An analytical model of the Comet's collision with Jupiter

An important feature observed in the wake of the Jupiter-comet clash was the appearance of the ring structure axisymmetrically positioned around the center of the impact. The persistent expansion of the dark rings and its speed indicated an outward propagating gravity wave (Benka, 1995). We employ an analytical model of constant density, uniform finite depth and inviscid fluid layer to investigate the wave motion produced by the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on the Jovian atmosphere. The relevant thermal effects are neglected and an explosion resulting from the collision is then described by an initial impulsive pressure at the surface of the Jovian atmosphere. Under the assumption that all the kinetic energy of a comet fragment is completely converted into the energy of wave motions in the Jovian atmosphere, an analytical formula describing the relationship between the resulting wave motion in the atmosphere and the parameters of a comet fragment (the radius, density and speed) is derived. Results from the present simple analytical model give a qualitative agreement with observations regarding the distance and speed of the waves.     

The roles of particle precipitation and Joule heating in the energy balance of the Jovian thermosphere

Order of magnitude calculations have been carried out to compare particle precipitation and Joule heating with solar radiation as sources of energy in the Jovian thermosphere. Calculations based on a detailed atomic cross section approach to energy deposition show that the efficiency of conversion of energetic particle precipitation energy into thermal energy is 0.33, larger than on Earth. This emphasizes the role of particle precipitation heating, which may serve as a source for gravity waves. In contrast to the terrestrial case, Joule heating is found to be of only minor significance in the Jovian atmosphere.     

The thermal structure of Jupiter I. Implications of Pioneer 10 infrared radiometer data

Temperature profiles for low latitude regions of Jupiter in the 1.0-0.1 bar pressure regime are recovered from Pioneer 10 infrared radiometer data. The temperature near 0.1 bar is 108–117K, depending on the overlying thermal structure assumed. For the South Equatorial Belt, the temperature at 1.0 bar is 170 K, assuming an adiabatic lapse rate in the deep atmosphere. The South Tropical Zone temperature at this level is 155K if pure gaseous absorption is assumed. Alternatively, the temperature is much closer to that in the SEB, assuming the presence of an optically opaque cloud near the 0.6atm (145K) level. Such a cloud presence in the STrZ may be correlated with the visible and 5 micron appearance of the planet and with NH₃ saturation just below this position. The molar fraction of H₂ most consistent with the data is 0.91 ± 0.08. conditional on the perfect validity of the model and the lack of systematic errors in the data. The effective temperatures of the SEB and STrZ are 127.6 and 124.2K, respectively. These temperature profiles are generally consistent with data at other wavelengths and radiative-equilibrium models, but a discrepancy with the preliminary neutral atmosphere inversion of Pioneer 10 radio occultation data remains unexplained.     

Titan atmosphere profiles from Huygens engineering (temperature and acceleration) sensors

Data from several Huygens probe housekeeping sensors (an engineering accelerometer and housekeeping temperature sensors) are studied to determine how effectively such nonideal instruments may characterize the density or temperature structure of the atmosphere. While only confirming the results of the dedicated atmospheric structure instrument, this exercise is of relevance to possible future missions to various bodies which might not be equipped with such science-grade sensors able to accurately profile the atmosphere top-to-bottom. It is found that for typical engineering accelerometers with 8-bit resolution, the atmosphere density for ∼4 scale heights above the peak deceleration altitude may be recovered. If, as with Huygens, the peak deceleration exceeds the range of the accelerometers, recovery of an additional scale height or so below the peak is still possible, but relies on accurate total velocity knowledge. Engineering temperature sensors can, with care, be analyzed to recover the temperature structure of at least the lowest ∼30 km of Titan's atmosphere. Fortunately, in the case of Huygens, data from the surface after landing were available to constrain models of heat leaks which offset the observed temperature from that of the ambient air during descent; data from before and during the entry phase on other missions would be similarly useful. When corrections are made for the estimated heat transfer processes, the atmospheric temperature can be recovered to within about 3 K.     

Formation of spectral lines in planetary atmosphere IV. Theoretical evidence for structure of the jovian clouds from spectroscopic observations of methane and hydrogen quadrupole lines

The theory of formation of pressure-broadened methane lines and collision-narrowed hydrogen quadrupole lines in a Jovian atmosphere is studied in detail for a physically realistic model of the planet's lower atmosphere. Only observations of the center-to-limb (CTL) variations of the equivalent width of absorption lines for both of these molecules can identify the structure of the visible cloud layers. Observations of the CTL variation of methane and hydrogen quadrupole lines are the most suitable for studying the Jovian atmosphere. The CTL variations for hydrogen are much greater and more sensitive to variations of the properties of the thin upper tropospheric cloud layer than the corresponding observations of methane lines. A detailed comparison of hydrogen quadrupole with methane lines is made for the same continuum conditions, enabling us to develop a detailed understanding of the formation of the collision-narrowed hydrogen quadrupole lines in a Jovian atmosphere.     

Spectral properties of hydrogen,helium, methane,and ammonia at thermal infrared wavelengths

We present some results of a theoretical and laboratory program to determine the thermal infrared spectral properties of the principal gaseous constituents of the atmosphere of Jupiter. G. Birnbaum has measured laboratory spectra in the 16 to 1000 um wavelength range for hydrogen and hydrogen-helium mixtures at Jovian temperatures. These are compared to theoretically computed spectra in order to determine the temperature dependence of the line strengths in the pressure-induced rotational band and the overlap parameters from the translational band. Existing spectral data for methane do not agree well with measurements of the ν₄ band at room temperature. A revised allocation of line intensities is proposed. Existing data for the ν₂ (10 um) band of ammonia do agree reasonably well with measurements at room temperature and at ?77δC, but there are some important discrepancies which remain to be explained.     

The thermal structure of Jupiter II. Observations and analysis of 8–14 micron radiation

Observations of Jovian limb structure at 8.11 and 8.45 microns are reported. These are used along with other limb structure and spectral data in the 8–14 micron region to derive a model of the thermal and cloud structure within the 1.0-0.01 bar pressure regime. The model is generally consistent with models derived from Pioneer 10 infrared radiometer data reported by Orton (1975b). The temperature is about 165K at 1.00 bar, 108K at 0.01 bar, and 143K at 0.03 bar. In zones, an optically opaque cloud of NH₃ exists near the 143K (0.60 bar) level. A partly transparent haze of solid NH₃ particles overlies the cloud. Belts are free of the cloud and have a much lower abundance of NH₃ haze than the zones. The data are consistent with an NH₃ gas abundance defined by saturation equilibrium, with a mixing ratio of 1.5 × 10^?4 deep in the atmosphere, and with a CH₄ mixing ratio of 2 × 10^?3, about three times the currently accepted value.     

Strong turbulence and atmospheric waves in stellar occultations

Many of the problems of stellar occultation observations stem from the difficulty of determining the effects of realistic atmospheric structure on the lightcurves. General techniques for producing model lightcurves for a variety of realistic atmospheric irregularities, including turbulence and inertia-gravity waves, are presented and applied. Using numerical simulations which model the propagation of a wave through a phase-changing screen, the limit of strong scintillations for one-dimensional, Kolmogorov-like turbulence, both for a point source and for extended sources, is investigated in some detail, and significant departures from the behavior in the weak scintillation regime are found. The results are compared with published analytical results and recent occultation data. The effects of large-scale atmospheric waves with realistic horizontal structure are examined, and the reliability of the numerical inversion method of retrieving the true atmospheric vertical structure under circumstances of strong ray crossing and horizontal inhomogeneities is assessed. The simulations confirm that large-scale layered features of the atmosphere are accurately recovered; horizontally inhomogeneous structures (including turbulence) with coherence scale $\text{L ? (2πRH)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ (where R = planetary radius and H = scale height) have little effect on the derived temperature profiles. It is concluded that analysis of occultations may eventually allow us to determine both the quasiglobal atmospheric structure and the statistical characteristics of small-scale refractivity variations.     

Jupiter: An inhomogeneous atmospheric model analysis of spatial variations of the H2 4-0 S(1) line

An analysis of the structure of the Jovian atmosphere, primarily based on center-to-limb variations (CTLV) of the equivalent width of the hydrogen quadrupole 4-0 S(1) line, is presented. These data require that the atmosphere have regions of both long- and short- scattering mean free paths. Two alternative cloud structures which fit the data are developed. The first is a two-cloud model (TCM) consisting of a thin upper cloud and a lower semi-infinite cloud, with absorbing gas between the clouds and above the upper cloud. The second model is a reflecting-scattering model (RSM), in which a gas layer lies above a haze consisting of scattering particles and absorbing gas. The cloud-scattering phase function in both models must have a strong forward peak. The CTLV data require, however, the presence of a backscattering lobe on the phase function, with the backscattering intensity about 4% of the forward scattering. The decrease in reflectivity of all regions from the visible to the ultraviolet is explained by the presence of dust particles mixed with the gas. Most of the ultraviolet absorption in the atmosphere must occur above the upper cloud layer. Particles with a uniform distribution of radii from 0.0 to 0.1 μm with a complex index of refraction varying as λ^?2.5 are used. The contrast in reflectivity between belts and zones may be explained by the larger concentration of dust in the belts than in the zones. Spatially resolved ultraviolet limb-darkening curves will help to determine the dust distribution of the Jovian atmosphere. The visible methane bands at λλ 6190, 5430, and 4860 Å are analyzed in terms of these models. We derive a methane-to-hydrogen mixing ratio of 2.8 × 10^?3, which is about 4.5 times the value for solar composition.     

Stochastic models of hot planetary and satellite coronas: Atomic oxygen in Europa’s corona

This paper analyzes the formation, kinetics, and transport of hot oxygen atoms in the atmosphere of the Jovian satellite Europa. Atmospheric sources of suprathermal oxygen atoms are assumed to be represented by the processes of dissociation of molecular oxygen, which is the main component of the atmosphere, by solar UV radiation and electron fluxes from the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter, as well as by the reaction of dissociative recombination of the main ionospheric ion O ₂ ⁺ which thermal electrons. It is shown that dissociation in Europa’s near-surface atmosphere is balanced by the processes of the loss of atomic oxygen due to the effective escape of suprathermal oxygen atoms into the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter along the orbit of Europa and due to ionization by magnetospheric electrons and catalytic recombination of oxygen atoms on the icy surface of the satellite. It thus follows that atomic oxygen is only a small admixture to the main atmospheric component—molecular oxygen—in the near-surface part of the atmosphere. However, the outer exospheric layers of Europa’s atmosphere are populated mostly by suprathermal oxygen atoms. The near-surface molecular envelope of Europa is therefore surrounded by a tenuous extended corona of hot atomic oxygen.     

Low order effect of crand input in the Jovian atmosphere

Modeling of the Jovian atmosphere shows that cosmic ray induced albedo neutron decay is inadequate to account for Pioneer 10 and 11 projected electron levels on Jupiter. High energy solar protons must also be excluded as an important neutron decay source. Analysis of neutron flux data near the top of the Jovian atmosphere can lead to the determination of He/H₂ and³He/⁴He ratios for the Jovian atmosphere.     

The low-latitude circulation of Mars

A simple linear, baroclinic and primitive equation model which includes both parameterized dissipation and a fairly realistic basic state is used to study the seasonal response of the Martian atmosphere to the steady-state influence of the orography of Mars. It is argued that the orography possesses a thermal and mechanical influence upon the state of the atmosphere. The thermal influence, which has a maximum at low latitudes, is a result of the temperature anomaly introduced into the atmosphere throughout the troposphere by the orographic feature. The resultant heat sources are shown to possess time scales which are much longer than diurnal, thus allowing a steady-state background circulation to develop. Using thermal and mechanical forcing derived from simple laws, the model is solved numerically to provide seasonal distributions of the steady-state circulation.The steady-state solutions are dominated by the thermal forcing of the Tharsis Ridge region and to a lesser degree, by that of the Olympus Mons region. Mechanical orographic forcing appears to possess an insignificant role in determining the low-latitude circulation. The states of the winter midlatitudes and tropics and the summer midlatitudes are very different, with the former region the most energetic. In the winter midlatitudes the kinetic energy is seen to increase with height with the excitation of large-scale and geostrophic near-barotropic eddies. In the tropics, the kinetic energy decreases with height and the response is nearly completely confined to the longitude-height plane. The transition between these two states occurs abruptly in the subtropics.Some of these features are similar to the planetary scale and long-period circulation of the low latitudes of the terrestrial atmosphere. Other features require consideration of properties inherent in the Martian atmosphere. To study these a simple, continuous analytic model is introduced which contains strong dissipation of time scales characteristic of Mars. It is shown that one solution, the equatorial Kelvin wave, is modified considerable by the strong damping and that it dominates the low-latitude circulation. Besides decaying rapidly with height, the vertical wave scale is stretched considerably with height by the dissipative processes. Such a stretching is shown to be scale selective and the longest horizontal modes are stretched the most in the vertical. Besides allowing an explanation of some features of the Martian atmosphere, the predominant vertical scale of the equatorial Kelvin wave allows some confidence in the choice of a two-layer model for the numerical study.     

Voyager U.V. spectrometer observations of He 584 Å dayglow at Jupiter

The intensity of Jupiter's He 584 Å airglow has been measured by the Voyager U.V. spectrometers. The disc-averaged brightness is about 4 Rs and limb darkening is present. The intensity probably varies with longitude, the variation being out of phase with the H Lyman-α intensity bulge. Modelling of resonance scattering of the solar He 584 Å line by Jupiter's atmosphere has shown that the hydrogen and helium emissions can be explained about equally well by at least two self-consistent scenarios involving the structure (temperature and eddy diffusion coefficient) and excitation of the atmosphere. All our evidence points to a dramatic change of conditions in the Jovian atmosphere in the time between Pioneer and Voyager encounters.     

Dust in jupiter''s magnetosphere: Effect on magnetospheric electrons and ions

The interaction of the Jovian energetic radiation belt electrons, and the Jovian plasma, with an ambient dust population is examined. Firstly the distribution of dust, ejected from Io, in the inner magnetosphere is calculated. Using the mass loss in submicron particles of ~13g/sec, which is required to model the intensity and shape of the Jovian ring in the model of Morfill etal. (1980b), it is possible to quantitatively calculate losses of magnetospheric ions and electrons due to direct collisions with charged dust particles as well as multiple Coulomb scattering with resultant losses in the Jovian atmosphere. It is shown that the magnitude and radial dependence of the losses are sufficient to explain the electron measurements, although the possibility that some other process may be more effective cannot be ruled out. The same dust population has, on the other hand, no significant effect on the plasma, which should therefore be transported essentially loss free, except within the Jovian ring, if there are no other processes involved. Comparison with the data shows that loss free transport outside the ring does indeed satisfy the measurement constraints.     

Comparative thermal evolution of Uranus and Neptune

We extend a Jovian convective-cooling model to Uranus and Neptune. The model assumes that efficient interior convection prevails, so that escape of interior heat is governed by the radiative properties of the atmosphere. A comparison of the thermal evolution of Uranus and Neptune indicates that the larger amount of solar radiation absorbed in Uranus' atmosphere tends to differentially suppress the escape of interior heat. The model is shown to be consistent with recent infrared observations of the thermal balance of Uranus and Neptune, and with the presumed age of these planets.     

New determination of monochromatic methane absorption coefficients with regard to the thermal conditions in the atmospheres of giant planets. IV. Jupiter and Saturn

Based on the data on the wavelength dependence of geometrical albedo for the disks of Jupiter and Saturn, we determined the trends in the height variation of the aerosol optical depth in the upper atmospheric layers of these planets, the fractional methane concentration in the Jovian atmosphere (0.00125), and the monochromatic methane absorption coefficients (or the superposition of these coefficients for methane and ammonia) typical of the thermal conditions in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn in the wavelength range from 527 to 956 nm.     

Stellar occultation spikes as probes of atmospheric structure and composition

The characteristics of spikes observed in the occultation light curves of β Scorpii by Jupiter are reviewed and discussed. Using a model in which the refractivity (density) gradients in the Jovian atmosphere are parallel to the local gravitational field, the spikes are shown to yield information about (i) the [He]/-[H₂] ratio in the atmosphere, (ii) the fine scale density structure of the atmosphere and (iii) high-resolution images of the occulted stars. The spikes also serve as indicators for ray crossing. Observational limits are placed on the magnitude of horizontal refractivity gradients; these appear to be absent on scales of a few kilometers at altitudes corresponding to number densities less than 2 × 10¹⁴ cm^?3. Spikes are produced by atmospheric density variations, perhaps due to atmospheric layers, density waves or turbulence. To discriminate among these possibilities, future occultation observations should be made from a number of observation sites at two or more wavelengths simultaneously with high time resolution techniques. Given a large telescope and suitable observing techniques, useful information about Jupiter's atmosphere can be obtained from future occultations of early-type stars as faint as V ～ + 6–7.     

Jupiter's zone-belt structure at radio wavelengths: II. Comparison of observations with model atmosphere calculations

Model atmosphere calculations are presented which simulate high-resolution maps of Jupiter's radio emission. They are compared with observations recently obtained at the Very Large Array at 1.3, 2.0, 6.1, and 20.5 cm with resolutions ranging from 0.075 to 0.218 Jovian radii (I. de Pater and J. R. Dickel (1986). Jupiter's zone-belt structure at radio wavelengths. I. Observations. Astrophys. J., in press). The models indicate that ammonia gas is strongly depleted in the upper atmosphere with respect to the solar value both in zones and belts. At very high levels in the atmosphere (P < 0.3−0.5 bar) the gas is undersaturated and distributed uniformly over the planet. In the cloud formation region (0.5 < P < 2 bar), the ammonia depletion is largest in the belts, where it extends down to depths corresponding to 1.8–2 bar. In the zones, the lower ammonia abundances are found down to pressures of 1 bar. Deeper into the Jovian atmosphere, at pressures ≥2.2 bar, the gas is overabundant relative to the solar value by nearly a factor of 2 in both zones and belts. The altitude distribution of the ammonia gas is explained in terms of chemistry, cloud physics, and atmospheric dynamics. The undersaturation at high levels in the atmosphere is attributed to photodissociation of ammonia gas under influence of solar UV photons, coupled with Jupiter's meteorology (up- and downward drafts in the atmosphere). The general depletion of this gas throughout Jupiter's upper atmosphere may be caused by trapping of the gas in a layer of NH₄SH particles, and/or in an aqueous ammonia cloud. The cloud deck responsible for trapping ammonia gas is thicker above zones than belts. If the observed depletion of ammonia gas is entirely due to trapping in an NH₄SH cloud, the difference in thickness of this cloud between zones and belts gives rise to a temperature difference of 3–4°K between the two regions. This temperature difference may trigger the zonal wind motions in Jupiter's atmosphere near the cloud tops.     

Locations of Jovian decametric radiation sources

The location of the Jovian decametric radiation main source is determined to be the south magnetic pole while the location of the early source is found to be near the north magnetic pole, with an equal contribution from a region near the south magnetic pole. The results are based on calculations of the region observable from the Earth (ROE) for Jovian decametric radio waves that are emitted in the direction ± 10° centered on the direction perpendicular to the Jovian magnetic field and based on a Pioneer 11 model of the field at the level of the topside region of the Jovian ionosphere. Ground-based observations of the occurrence frequency of the decametric radiation as a function of Jovian longitude, which indicate a remarkable asymmetry between the early and main sources, agree with the calculated ROE area that varies as a function of CML observed from the Earth. The observations support a recent theory for the origin of the decametric radiation which is based on a wave-mode conversion from plasma waves into electromagnetic waves.     

The composition,structure, temperature and dynamics of the upper thermosphere in the polar regions during October to December 1981

During the period October to December 1981, the Dynamics Explorer-2 (DE-2) spacecraft successively observed the South polar and the North polar regions, and recorded the temperature, composition and dynamical structure of the upper thermosphere. In October 1981, perigee was about 310 km altitude, in the vicinity of the South Pole, with the satellite orbit in the 09.00–21.00 L.T. plane. During late November and December, the perigee had precessed to the region of the North Pole, with the spacecraft sampling the upper thermosphere in the 06.00 18.00 L.T. plane. DE-2 observed the meridional wind with a Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), the zonal wind with the wind and temperature spectrometer (WATS), the neutral temperature with the FPI, and the neutral atmosphere composition and density with the neutral atmosphere composition spectrometer (NACS). A comparison between the South (summer) Pole and the North (winter) Pole data shows considerable seasonal differences in all neutral atmosphere parameters. The region of the summer pole, under similar geomagnetic and solar activity conditions, and at a level of about 300 km, is about 300 K warmer than that of the winter pole, and the density of atomic oxygen is strongly depleted (and nitrogen enhanced) around the summer pole (compared with the winter pole). Only part of the differences in temperature and composition structure can be related to the seasonal variation of solar insolation, however, and both polar regions display structural variations (with latitude and Universal Time) which are unmistakeable characteristics of strong magnetospheric forcing. The magnitude of the neutral atmosphere perturbations in winds, temperature, density and composition within both summer and winter polar regions all increase with increasing levels of geomagnetic activity.The UCL 3-dimensional time dependent global model has been used to simulate the diurnal, seasonal and geomagnetic response of the neutral thermosphere, attempting to follow the major features of the solar and geomagnetic inputs to the thermosphere which were present during the late 1981 period.In the UCL model, geomagnetic forcing is characterized by semi-empirical models of the polar electric field which show a dependence on the Y component of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field, due to Heppner and Maynard (1983), It is possible to obtain an overall agreement, in both summer and winter hemispheres, with the thermospheric wind structure at high latitudes, and to explain the geomagnetic control of the combined thermal and compositional structure both qualitatively and quantitatively. To obtain such agreement, however, it is essential to enhance the polar ionosphere as a consequence of magnetospheric particle precipitation, reflecting both widespread auroral (kilovolt) electrons, and “soft” cusp and polar cap sources. Geomagnetic forcing of the high latitude thermosphere cannot be explained purely by a polar convective electric field, and the thermal as well as ionising properties of these polar and auroral electron sources are crucial components of the total geomagnetic input.